Alma 22 – 23
We learn from a young age in the LDS church that the Lamanites are bad and the Nephites are good. The truth is significantly more complex and if we stick to that caricature we will misunderstand many of the people in the scripture stories. For example Lamoni’s father, the king of all the Lamanites, was a good man even before he met Ammon and later Aaron and believed their teachings. When we start with that simplistic assumption his first reaction to Ammon reinforced the idea that he was very wicked before he repented. If we realize the truth we can see that his reaction is a demonstration of how powerful and negative the Lamanites teachings were concerning the Nephites.
The reason that thousands of the Lamanites believed the sons of Mosiah and those who were with them was that despite the traditions passed down among the Lamanites this generation of Lamanites weren’t personally rebellious toward God in their hearts.
From this time forward the bloodlines of Nephi and Laman are thoroughly mixed among both the Nephites and the Lamanites.
Leave a Reply